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France put up to 70,000 police officers on the streets on Saturday, October 24, as new protests were set for Paris, Marseille and other cities a week after riots damaged or looted about 3,000 shops, the Associated Press reported. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced the deployment, which includes helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons.
Several of the capital's largest cultural sites shut for the day. The Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Picasso Museum and the Grand Palais all closed. Art Basel opened to the public on Friday only, and organizers cancelled its weekend program because of the risk of unrest.
Authorities also restricted where people could march. Local officials banned protests in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier, and Paris police refused several permit requests, according to Euronews. Some routes in cities where marches were allowed were moved away from shopping streets and public buildings. Trade unions called the bans a violation of freedom of expression.
Retailers spent the week preparing. Shopkeepers in Paris boarded up storefronts, and a bank branch near Place de la République was covered in wooden panels. Paris police prefect Patrice Faure urged shopkeepers to hire security guards, then clarified that protecting businesses is the government's responsibility.
A separate demonstration was planned in Orléans, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) south of Paris, against the far right. It coincided with a two-day congress of Marine Le Pen's party and was backed by about 50 organizations.
We reported last week that the October 17 protests turned violent, with looting and arson in cities across the country. In Limoges, a suspected arson attack nearly destroyed the 19th-century city hall. The movement began last month at a high school southeast of Paris over staff shortages. It has since widened into broader protests over the cost of living, months before the vote to choose President Emmanuel Macron's successor.
Nuñez said the government wanted to avoid a repeat of the previous weekend. "We will be inflexible toward rioters, looters and anyone who commits acts of violence," he said, according to UPI.
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